Never Close Enough
by ComplexLovely
Summary: Light and his father move to LA to work on the case of a serial killer. When Light stops a stranger from committing suicide, his world gets tangled up in an even more complex web of lies. Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. Eventual LightxL
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"Light! Is there any more news about the killer?!" A reporter shoved a microphone in the teen's face as he made his trek to school. Luckily, Light was trained in ignoring any questions regarding any case his father was working on at the time.

"Is it true that the killer left a note by the body of the victim that read, 'You are getting closer'?" Another reporter yelled around the chaos. A crowd of people surrounded Yagami Light, but the stoic boy just continued walking down the side walk. Soon, he hit school property, and, as expected, the reporters shuffled away. They could not legally be on the private property of To-Oh University.

Misa ran over to her boyfriend and hugged him. "Those reporters just won't leave you alone!" She pouted and kissed Light's cheek. Light took her hand and walked into the building of his class with a shrug. "Misa doesn't like that at all!" Misa continued in a whiney voice. Light and Misa were in an on-again off-again relationship. Light wasn't interested in the girl in the slightest, but she kept good company.

"You get used to it," Light commented as he sat in the front row of the lecture hall for his Criminal Justice class. Misa just rolled her eyes. She paid attention to Light as Light paid attention to the professor for his favorite course.

Light kept to himself during school, only really socializing with Misa and Matsuda, a senior at To-Oh. He'd only been in Los Angeles for a few weeks; they'd moved from New York City due to his father, a highly commemorated police officer and detective, being needed for a special case here in Los Angeles. That was only partially true, though. The entire story brought up terrible memories Light did not want to think about.

After class, Light said an idle goodbye to Misa before heading home. He wasn't surrounded by an entourage, so he could enjoy the walk back to the apartment he and his father lived in.

Light unlocked the door. His father wouldn't be home until late, so he had some time to kill to do homework. On the counter sat a manila envelope. Light frowned and opened it, though the front read CLASSIFIED in all capital letters. Light studied the picture for a moment before quickly shutting the envelope in disgust. The picture was of a bucket of severed hands, a note sitting on top of the hands that read, "HE'S ON HAND."

His father had been working the case of a serial killer roaming the streets of LA. They'd been working for almost two weeks and still had no leads. Light was intrigued by the case, but his father wouldn't let him go to the office and get all the information he needed to help solve the case. It irked Light to no end. He scowled and headed to his room, throwing his backpack on the ground and sighing.

 _I need some potato chips_ , he thought to himself. He grabbed the container he stashed under his bed and pulled out a bag of chips, then got to work on his homework. His life was typical, but that's how he liked it. He didn't need any more drama.

"LIGHT?!"

Light crashed to the ground, wincing as the banging on the door matched the pounding in his head from the fall. He pulled himself up and scowled as his father continued banging on the door.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!" His father bellowed, banging harder. Light opened the door and gave his father a blank stare.

"What?" He demanded, annoyed that his slumber was interrupted. Soichiro grabbed his son and shoved him against the wall.

"Explain this," he growled. The eighteen-year-old looked at the paper in his father's hands, his eyes widening.

 _Light Yagami Confirms that the Serial Killer Case has NO Leads!_

Light looked at his father, not sure what to say. He hadn't told the reporters anything. This story was slander!

"I… I never said anything!" He exclaimed. His father was furious.

"No one's supposed to know that we have no lead, Light," he hissed. He sucked in a breath, still glaring at his son. Soichiro suddenly let go of Light and backed up, closing his eyes as he attempted to calm down. Light straightened up and let out the breath he'd been holding. He was used to these outbursts from his father, but sometimes they still caught him off guard.

"I didn't say anything, father," Light promised. Soichiro let out a shaky breath.

"We need help on the case," the police chief said. "We need outside forces… someone smarter beyond repair."

"I could—" Light started, but his father shoved him against the wall again.

"No! You've done enough to hurt this case. I will not have you mixed in with the police—again!" Soichiro snapped. Light scowled.

"You can't keep me from doing what I want, father. I know I messed up in the past—" Light was cut off with a slap across the face. His head jerked to the side and he sucked in a sharp breath. Light slowly turned and looked at his father, who was fuming.

"You did more than mess up, Light," the man said in a deep, dangerous voice. Light glared at the man. "You are not trusted with anything to do with this case. I will never trust you, Yagami Light. Ever." A pause. "And if you try to mess with this case, I will seek disciplinary actions."

Light clenched his fists. "Go to hell," he growled. He threw a mean punch, nailing his father straight in the nose. The man rocked back, giving Light enough time to shove him against the dresser. A picture frame with nothing but a stock photograph hit the ground, glass shards spilling across the carpet. Light dashed out the door, ignoring his father's cursing.

"Get back here!" Soichiro yelled as he chased Light outside the apartment complex. "I'm not done with you!"

Light threw his father a middle finger, which seemed a little immature for someone eighteen years old, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. He ran and ran and ran down the side walk and off the beaten path. He ran into a small forest and threw trees and past vines and bushes. He ran away from all his problems, from his violent father who never understood him, from the girlfriend that he just could not find himself interested in, which made him nervous. He ran from himself, from who he'd been in New York, from who he was now.

Light broke through the trees and collapsed on the grass, breathing deeply. He was physically fit, but wasn't used to such an intense journey. Wet hair dripped into his eyes, and he realized it was raining now. All he could hear was the howling of the wind, loud and meaningless.

Light leaned on his knees and wiped his eyes, looking around. The rain was falling sideways due to the harsh winds. He realized he was on a cliff side; he could see the ocean in the foggy distance. He stood up and continued looking around—and stopped when he saw a figure at the edge of the cliff. It appeared to be a young man, tall and lanky. He saw the profile view of him. Black locks surrounded a pale face. The man's eyes were closed, dark circles lining them. He stood hunched in the rain.

Light cocked his head curiously. He wondered why the guy was outside in the storm. Maybe he was admiring the serenity, the solitude of the cliff? Light did agree that there was something nostalgic about the atmosphere.

Light's thoughts about the beauty of this situation changed, however, when the young man spread his arms out wide.

Light quickly sprang to his feet. "Hey!" He yelled, though the man couldn't hear him over the roar of the wind.

Light started running towards the man, heart beating.

The man was going to jump.

 **A/N  
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Never Close Enough! I can't wait to get this whole story down and posted. I promise it'll be great! More to come soon.  
Have a great day!  
-M**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Stop!" Light's voice could barely be heard over the roaring wind. The man whipped around just in time to see Light tackling him to the ground. The two wrestled, Light getting elbowed in the face, then retaliating by giving the man a swift kick in the gut. The guy was stronger than Light originally anticipated, though, and easily shoved Light to the ground and pinned him there.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He man spat, glaring down at the Japanese teen. Light's struggles were futile. He glowered at the skinny form above him.

"I was saving your life," Light avowed. "You almost jumped off the cliff!" He stared into the wide, black eyes of the stranger, and a wash of familiarity hit him. He couldn't pinpoint where, but he was sure he'd at least seen this guy before.

He raven-haired man sighed and slowly got off of Light. He stood up, dusted dirt off his ripped jeans, then offered a hand to the student as a way to help him off the ground. Light took the hand and yanked the man down to the ground. Light wasted no time straddling the guy and pinning down his arms.

"Why were you going to jump?" He questioned. The man just flashed him a small smile.

"How do you know I was going to jump?"

"You had your arms spread out, eyes closed," Light said, impatient. "It was obvious you were going to end your life."

"And why, pray tell, did you need to stop me?" The man smirked, as if he'd discovered a secret Light could only dream of knowing. Light frowned.

"I'll happily watch you jump _after_ you tell me what lead you to attempt suicide," he said in a steady voice. Light would not let this guy kill himself, of course. He was curious about what this stranger had going on in his life. It must be pretty awful if he'd rather die than face his issues.

"Yagami Light," the man said, still looking at Light with his unusual eyes. "You're Chief Yagami's son. He's head of the investigation team on the serial killings here in L.A." A pause. "Your parents are originally from Japan, then moved to New York for a case. They had you and, a few years later, a daughter. You try to stay with your Japanese culture as much as possible. Your mother and sister were killed in a freak bus accident, and now you and your father are here in California." Light paled. How'd this guy know so much about him? Light didn't know _anything_ about the man underneath him. The British man took Light's confusion as a chance to change rolls and reverse their positions. He sat on top of Light once again and smiled triumphantly.

Light stared at him in amazement. He realized he could hear his own heart beating; the storm had passed. "How did you know that?" His voice was barely over a whisper. The man just smirked.

"I can read newspapers, you know." He said. "There was a story about your father coming here to investigate the serial killings. All the information I just revealed to you was in the article." Light frowned, feeling foolish.

"How come you know so much about me and I know nothing about you?" Light demanded.

"You can call me L," the man said, getting off of Light and helping the college freshman up.

Light thought that was a funny name, though he really had no right to judge anyone.

"All right, L," Light began. "Are you in University?"

L shook his head, water drops dripping off his messy hair. "I was," he said. "But I dropped out to move on to better things."

"Like…?" Light prompted. He wasn't one that liked having secrets kept from him, nor did he enjoy beating around the bush.

L just chuckled. "My boyfriend wanted me home more," he started. Light frowned a bit. He wasn't homophobic, but he wasn't used to being associated with gay people. Hearing L admit his sexuality so freely made Light think of Misa for a just a moment. "And I wanted to be able to spend more time at the orphanage where I volunteer." Something about L's quick glance at the ground made Light suspect that L was hiding more details, but he didn't question it.

"What's your occupation?" Light asked L looking over at the man. Light was slightly taller than L, but he suspected that was because L slouched a bit.

L looked a little embarrassed. "Well... I'm currently unemployed, but I'd love to be a detective." He admitted. Light grinned.

"That's what I want to be, too!" His eyes lit up. "I want to catch all the criminals and lock them up. Serve justice!" How ironic, considering that Light was a criminal in his past.

"Maybe we can work together one day," L said, though he was mostly joking. He assumed he'd never see Yagami Light ever again. Light nodded in agreement, though he was sure that'd never happen. "Do you have access to a lot of information?" L asked Light. "Since, you know, your dad leads the case."

"My father doesn't share the information with anyone outside of task force, including his own kin." Light felt angry suddenly. "But maybe I can convince him otherwise."

L nodded and stared off into the dark horizon, seemingly in a trance. He chewed on his thumbnail thoughtlessly. Light looked at the young man for a few seconds, mentally tracing his profile and memorizing every line.

"I should get home," he said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Yes," L agreed. "That would be best." He looked at Light. "Fairwell, Light-kun. Until next time?"

Light smiled a bit and nodded. "Until next time." He turned around to leave, but froze. "Hey, L?"

"Yes?" L continued staring in the distance.

"Why'd you almost jump?" Light asked. He remembered what L had said about his boyfriend, his dream career, and his attachment to the orphanage. It seemed like L had a lot to live for. Why end it now?

L was quiet for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "I was never going to," he concluded. "I heard you coming and was curious to see what you'd do."

Light reproached at the comment. "It was a test?" He demanded.

"Yes," L stayed calm. "And you passed."

Light started walking away without saying another word. He walked back through the forest and thought of L. He concluded that he should have let L jump off the edge, after all.

 **A/N: This is a pretty short chapter, more of a filler to get information said and done. Chapter 3 is being edited and 4 is being written though! Hope you enjoy!**


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